It will be appreciated at the outset that a wide variety of devices and arrangements have been disclosed that employ a desiccant material to absorb water vapor, liquid water, and other liquid. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,326,810 issued Jun. 20, 1967 to Dolan discloses a non-dusting silica desiccant bag that is created by nylon mesh bonded to microporous polyurethane. Another desiccant device is disclosed by Cullen et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,206, which was issued Nov. 8, 1988. Cullen describes an elongated, hollow, and moisture impermeable cylindrical body fabricated of polyethylene, polyester or polypropylene having end caps constructed of spun-bonded polyolefin that allow moisture to pass. A still further drying arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,638,179 to Yard, where the desiccant material, which is contained within a capsule, absorbs moisture from a gelatin skin, and not directly from the outside atmosphere.
Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,050 to Degen et al. Discloses sorbent particles that are immobilized within a solid matrix of softened thermoplastic material such as polyethylene or polypropylene, where moisture is transmitted into the sorbent lying on the surface of the thermoplastic. More recently, a desiccant entrained polymer, formed by the blending of a polymer, such as polypropylene and polyethylene, a desiccating agent, and a channeling agent, such as ethylene-vinyl alcohol and polyvinyl alcohol, was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,937 issued Jun. 15, 1999 to Hekal. Here, the mixture is solidified so that the channeling agent forms passage in the mixture through which moisture is communicable to the desiccating agent that is entrained within the mixture.
In each case, it will be realized that the volume of liquid or liquid vapor capable of being absorbed by a desiccant container is dependent on both the amount and the absorbent capacity of the desiccant material. Some most commonly used desiccating agents within the field of chemical engineering include activated charcoal, alumina, alumino silicate, calcium chloride, calcium fluoride, calcium oxide, calcium sulfate, clays, lithium chloride, molecular sieves, silica gel, starches, a zeolite, barium oxide, magnesium perchlorate, glycerin, calcium hydride, phosphoric anhydride, phosphoric acid, potassium hydroxide, sulfuric acid, ethylene glycol, barium oxide, and sodium sulfate. Of course, a desiccant agent can comprise one such desiccant or a mixture of such desiccants.
Notably, commercial grade calcium chloride may be considered to be a preferred desiccant in certain applications due to its low cost and high degree of hygroscopicity. One skilled in the art will be aware that calcium chloride, CaCl.sub.2, can be prepared by dissolving limestone (i.e. a naturally occurring form of calcium carbonate) or marble chips (i.e. also a naturally occurring form of calcium carbonate) in hydrochloric acid. Commercially, however, calcium chloride is typically made from the residues of an ammonia-soda process. Advantageously, calcium chloride has been found to meet government safety standards even where used in an environment where contact with food may occur.
Notwithstanding the significant number of desiccant devices that have been developed by inventors of the prior art, one knowledgeable in the art will realize that no such device has been disclosed for use particularly in a ball pit or "sea of balls," such as one in which children and, possibly, adults can play at amusement parks, carnivals, malls, and certain restaurants such as McDonald's, Burger King, and others, and even in private applications by rental or purchase. In such seas of balls, a retaining area is provided typically in the form of a rectangular arrangement of retaining walls and a floor. The dimensions of the retaining area certainly can vary widely from a small ball pit that is just a few feet across to a large ball pit that is ten, twenty, or even more feet across and is suitable for allowing multiple persons to play therein simultaneously. Some seas of balls provide netting above the retaining walls for preventing any of the potentially thousands of ball pit balls from spilling thereover. In use, participants can jump into the ball pit or sea of balls as though it were a giant pile of leaves. Once in the ball pit, participants can move about within the enveloping sea of balls as they hide, jump, and otherwise play.
Unfortunately, as the present inventor has appreciated, the ball pit balls and other surfaces in such seas of balls often are contaminated with a variety of liquids including saliva, perspiration, and beverages. Leaving such contaminating liquids on the ball pit balls and other ball pit surfaces certainly can lead to disadvantageously unsanitary conditions. While individually drying each ball manually, such as by a drying cloth or the like, certainly is possible, it is also a cumbersome and time-consuming task. With this, an operator must either expend laborious efforts to dry the surfaces of the individual ball pit balls and the ball pit in general or forego drying those surfaces entirely thereby leading to worsening sanitary conditions.
With the foregoing in mind, the present inventor has advantageously appreciated that a ball pit ball capable of drying its own surface and indeed drying neighboring surfaces within a ball pit would be useful for removing contaminating liquids in a ball pen or ball pit and thereby assisting in maintaining such a ball pit in a sanitary condition.